Elite: Dangerous' David Braben has some kind words for Star Citizen

Frontier Developments founder and CEO David Braben has tried to spread a bit of festive goodwill in an update post on the Elite: Dangerous forums.

Along with recapping Elite: Dangerous’ journey and the launch of Horizons, he gives a friendly shout out to his fellow space developers working on games like No Man’s Sky, Infinity: Battlescape and, in particular, Star Citizen, defending the latter from what he sees as unfair criticism.

“What both Star Citizen and Elite Dangerous are trying to do is very hard indeed. Both games are incredibly ambitious. I am proud and excited about what we are doing, but what they are doing is ambitious too, and I am looking forward to playing Star Citizen when it is finished. What we are both doing is new; we are trailblazing. The scope of both is vast and quite different, and neither have been done before, so there is no right answer for either of the approaches. It is frustrating to see some of the criticism of Star Citizen online. We should applaud when someone tries something that is hard, that hasn’t been done, not discourage them.”

Star Citizen has found itself in a lot of crosshairs this year, especially developer Derek Smart’s, for what some people perceive as a lack of transparency. Despite the criticism, Star Citizen has still seen backers pledge over $100 million, funding the development of the undeniably ambitious game.

“Game development is hard, with a great many independent components to get right,” Braben continues. “The very best development looks easy, but this is because of a great deal of careful planning by very experienced people behind the scenes working hard to make it happen. Like a swan, there may be frantic paddling of feet underwater, out of sight, but the view on the surface is one of serene beauty with barely a ripple. We are very proud of what we do, we have an incredible community supporting the game, and we have an amazing future.”

Star Citizen’s planetary landing feature was recently revealed, and Elite: Dangerous’ new season of expansions, Horizons, allows players to get out of their ships and speed around any moons and worlds they might find on their space adventures.